8:45 p.m. update: Flood warning issued as rainstorm reaches area

The rainstorm expected to swat the area today was a bit latter than expected, but it brought steady rain into the night when it finally arrived.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for virtually all of Northern California at 3:15 p.m., indicating floods were imminent or had already been reported.

The rain started here in earnest about 3 p.m., and by 8 p.m., Chico had gotten .26 inch at the Enterprise-Record's weather station. The Weather Service put Oroville at .11 inch.

Predictably, more rain was falling at higher elevations. At that time Paradise as at .78 inch; Magalia 1.61 inches and Stirling City, 2.56 inches in the last 24 hours. Brush Creek was at .96 inch, according to the Weather Service.

The rainfall was heavier farther north, as it began falling earlier and the thick of the storm passed through that area.

The Weather Service flood warning indicated as much 4 inches of rain would fall in the Sacramento Valley overnight, and up to 8 inches in the mountains.

That would cause streams to rise and flood in many areas, the Weather Service said, mentioning Butte Creek specifically. Mud and rock slides were an additional hazard in the mountains, with debris flows in area burned in this summer's fires.

The Sacramento River was expected to start flowing into the Sutter Bypass through the Colusa and Tisdale weirs, but it and the Feather River were expected to stay below flood stage through the area.

That's partly because there's plenty of room in north state reservoirs. Shasta Lake had added about 10,000 acre-feet by 8 p.m. Thursday; Lake Oroville, about 1,400 acre-feet.

A wind advisory was also in place through Sunday morning, meaning gusts above 40 mph could be expected. Sustained winds of 25-35 mph were predicted.

The wind probably played a factor in a power outage that affected 1,700 customers in south Oroville about 4 p.m. today. While 575 had power back in about an hour, according to PG&E, 75 were expected to be in the dark until 11 p.m. tonight.

Three separate outages occurred in Paradise this evening, with 71 customers impacted, and another 40 went dark in Concow.

The storm is supposed to taper off Friday afternoon, but a new wave of moisture is expected that night, lasting into Sunday.